Brunch with the Professor
by Mayhem21
Summary: Well, this story basically wrote itself. What would happen if you and a friend could sit down and have brunch with Professor Tolkien himself...


Well, I meant to finish To live by Brush and Bow, but this ended up writing itself. Please let me know if I should do another chapter. I'm not planning to, but I suppose I could knock one out if people wanted me to.  
  
The Lord of the Rings belongs to Professor JRR Tolkien, Sarah belongs to me, Erin belongs to herself, and Tolkien belongs to himself.  
  
I hope you enjoy!  
- ^_^  
  
*********  
  
The morning was bright as Big Ben tolled twelve o'clock. In a nearby restaurant, two young American girls sat down at a large booth  
  
"Do you think he's here yet?" the red head whispered.  
  
"Don't you think the hostess would have told if he was here?" the brown haired girl replied.  
  
At this the red head made no reply as she seated herself at their booth. Opening the menu, she made a show of choosing lunch as she obliquely scanned the room. Her friend looked at her in exasperation as she opened her own menu.  
  
"He's here!" the red head hissed. She was looking at an elderly gentleman wearing a brown suit, cut in a rather old style. Seeing them, he smiled and made his way over to the table.  
  
"Good afternoon," he said, sliding into the booth. "You must be Sarah," he said, looking at the red head, then turning towards the dark haired girl, "and Erin."  
  
"Yes sir, thank you for meeting with us," the Erin replied.  
  
"It was my pleasure, ladies. It has been thirty years since I came to London, so I'm quite happy to have an excuse to return," the gentleman said.  
  
"Professor Tolkien, I'm sure you're wondering why we asked to meet with you," Sarah said, "so let me come straight to the point. As I'm sure you've guessed, we have both enjoyed your stories for several years and we were wondering if you could answer a few questions."  
  
At this, the professor smiled once more before replying.  
  
"I would be happy to," he said, "though I must warn you that even I may not know all the answers you seek."  
  
"Of course, sir, "Erin replied. "Many of our questions have to do with The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. For instance, Bilbo set out of Hobbiton in 1641, according to Shire Reckoning that is, and came to Rivendell in that same year. Is it possible that he met a young Aragorn there, then known as Estel, since he didn't begin his journeys in the wild for ten more years?"  
  
"Hmm, a most intriguing question," Tolkien said, leaning back against the cushion. "One must remember that Bilbo only stayed in Rivendell for one, perhaps two nights. While there, he and the dwarves were learning about the conditions ahead and, most importantly, leaning about the moon letters on Thorin's map. They were given provisions and then departed to cross over the Misty Mountains," Here he paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, before continuing. "While it is possible that he met Aragorn as a small child, Bilbo did not record such a meeting in the Red Book, as he most likely would have. After all, "he said with a laugh, "how often does one meet a mortal child being raised by elves? No, I don't believe they met until Bilbo returned to Rivendell fifty years later. Still, I couldn't say for certain."  
  
"That makes sense, sir," Sarah exclaimed, "I think a hobbit as unusual as Bilbo would remember meeting a mortal in the House of Elrond and tell Frodo when Aragorn was mentioned in the Hall of Fire seventy-seven years later. Now then, for our next question, as I recall, a hobbit in his 'tweens' is considered rather irresponsible. If this is so, why would Frodo, having just 'come of age' at thirty-three, entrust Meriadoc Brandybuck, age twenty-two, with running Bilbo's, ah, clean-out?"  
  
"Meriadoc may be young, but he is the son of the Master of Buckland," the Professor insisted. "As such he most likely had been given other duties to perform as well." Tolkien laughed for a moment as a sudden thought struck him. "Hobbits are a bit conservative by nature, and it is very likely that Merry was rather mature for his age. He would be, oh, about seventeen or eighteen if he were a Man, so I think he could be trusted with watching various hobbits come collect what had been willed to them by Bilbo." The Professor glanced at this watch, and then glanced outside at Big Ben.  
  
"I think, sir," Erin began, "you will appreciate our next question since it is about the Elves. Elrond, as a half-elf, was allowed to choose whether or not he wished to be counted amongst Men or Elves. His brother, Elros, chose to be counted amongst the race of Men, and founded the kingdom of Numenor. Elrond, however, went on to become the herald of Gil-galad and, later, the lord of Rivendell. We were wondering if the sons of Elrond were also given this choice."  
  
"We think they would," Sarah said, interrupting them, "since Arwen was allowed to become mortal. I'm afraid, though, that we aren't sure. I know they stayed behind in Middle-Earth when their father left, but so did many other elves, such as their grandfather Celeborn, Legolas, and Thranduil."  
Tolkien laughed softly before speaking. "If you had read The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, then you would know the answer.  
Elros chose to be a King and 'longaevus' but mortal, so all his  
descendants are mortal, and of a specially noble race, but with  
dwindling longevity...  
Elrond chose to be among the Elves. His children -- with a renewed  
Elvish strain, since their mother Celebrían daughter of Galadriel --  
have to make their choices. Because of the renewed elvish blood their mother provided, all of Elrond's children had to make that choice."  
  
Tolkien glanced at this watch once more and slid out of the booth. "I'm afraid I must leave now, ladies. I have only an hour or so left before I must leave, and I would like to see the Eagle and Child once more before I go. Thank you for such a pleasant interlude. If ever a chance to do this comes up again, please feel free to snatch the opportunity."  
Sarah and Erin rose to shake his hand, and then signaled the waiter bring them their check.  
"Thank you, sir, for agreeing to meet with us. You've helped clear some confusion away and we really appreciate it," Sarah said.  
"Would you like us to see if we can get the Inkling together for a night of discussion sometime?" Erin asked. "We would love to be able to sit and talk with all of you!"  
Tolkien smiled at them, his eyes warm. "That would be wonderful, ladies. If you can manage it, could you arrange for the meeting to be on a Tuesday? We always met on Tuesdays, at the Eagle and Child."  
"Of course, sir," Sarah said. "It would be an honor."  
"Then good day to you both," Tolkien said, and, turning, he left the restaurant.  
"Well," Erin drawled, "that went well. It's a shame you forgot your list. We could have asked some of the really confusing questions, not ones we could have found for ourselves."  
"Nonsense," Sarah replied, a smile stretching across her face. "If we had pulled out the list, we might have frightened him off. We'll bring it with us when we go the meeting with the Inklings."  
Erin laughed at this, and, after paying the bill, they followed Tolkien's path out the door and into the stream of shoppers and strollers beyond. 


End file.
